1384 posts categorized "Sports"

Roy Halladay took a seat in the Phillies dugout at Citizens
Bank Park for one purpose: He wanted to clear the air about stories that were
published following his rehab outing for Class-A Lakewood on Tuesday.

“I felt like what was said necessarily wasn’t written,” the
Phillies pitcher said before Wednesday’s game.

Halladay did not take questions during the approximately
three-minute session. Instead, he voiced his displeasure about the way stories
were written regarding comments he made over Charlie Manuel’s firing.

“I just want to make it well known that I have a lot of
respect for Charlie,” Halladay said. “There were some articles put out that
offended me and I’m sure offended Charlie. And I called him today and talked to
him about it. We’ve been in a lot of contact. I loved playing for him. He was a
great manager. Everybody here loved him. The players loved him. And he was a
lot of the reason they won the World Series here. I just want to make that
point clear. I was also trying to say that I feel like if there was somebody
that’s going to replace a guy like that then it’s going to be a Ryne Sandberg
type of person with the experience that he carries and everything else.

“But I really felt like a lot was lost in translation with
respect to Charlie. I just want to make that clear. I don’t endorse any
manager’s firing. The players get managers fired. Any time a manager is fired, as a player you feel like you haven’t done your
job.

“Really, that’s it. I just
want to make sure the air is clear there. I talked to Charlie and we’re good. But I wanted him to know that I really enjoyed playing for
him and as far as managers have gone, he’s the best I’ve ever been around. I
really enjoyed the time with him. At the same token I look forward to working
with Ryne, too. Really, that’s about it. I think I saw one title that said I
endorsed the firing of Charlie Manuel. And that really bothered me, so I just
wanted to make sure we were all clear.”

I don’t personally remember what the headline was when I saw
the story posted last night, but I’m being told that one outlet did use the
word “endorse” in the headline.

These are Halladay’s original comments on Tuesday to
reporters who were in Lakewood.

“I’ve exchanged texts with Charlie,” Halladay said.
“Obviously, I loved him. He was great. But from what I’ve seen, Ryne [Sandberg]
came in and made some changes and addressed some issues that I think were being
overlooked. So from that standpoint, as much as I miss Charlie, I think that
Ryne’s going to do a good job and I think he’s going to bring back a little
more of the Phillie baseball style than we’ve had the last couple of years. You
know, we really haven’t had that whole team effort and the whole team hustle
that I think we’ve had in prior years.”

Reporters in Lakewood asked
Halladay to be more specific in what things were overlooked.

“Just different things,” he said. “Guys being in places on
time. Being on the field on time. Taking ground balls, taking extra BP, and all
those little things that nobody thinks makes a difference.

“So I think [Sandberg] has been very good so far. But, again, I don’t want to
take anything away from Charlie. We all respected him tremendously. You know, I
think he’s going to have the choice of what he wants to do at this point in his
life, so I’m happy for him.”

I have a feeling that Halladay was actually calling his
teammates out more than he was calling out Manuel. But I can certainly see from
the comments he made Tuesday how it sounded to reporters like he was calling out Manuel.

I can't imagine you'll be thrilled that it happened because the club needed to make room for Roger Bernadina.

GM Ruben Amaro Jr. announced Wednesday that the Phillies signed the free agent outfielder, who was designated for assignment recently by the Washington Nationals. He hit .178 with two home runs and six RBIs in 85 games with the Nats.

Last season, Bernadina, now 29, hit .291 in 129 games with Washington.

Team physician Dr. Michael Ciccotti recommended season-ending
surgery for Lannan, who, according to assistant general manager Scott
Proefrock, ruptured a tendon in his left knee. Lannan will get a second opinion
from Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles next week.

On Thursday, Howard will start
baseball activities, which includes a hitting program, taking ground balls and
doing some jogging. The surgery on left knee to repair torn cartilage was July
10 and the original timetable for his return was six to eight weeks. Tomorrow
(Aug. 21) is the six-week mark. Eight weeks would be Sept. 4.

I wouldn’t count on Howard coming
back this year. The club has a lot of money invested in him and it doesn’t want
to risk throwing him out there if he’s not 100 percent. Maybe things would be
different if the team were in the playoff hunt.

“I did not see Ryan yesterday but
everybody that saw him said he looked like he’s in good shape,” Proefrock said.
“I think that’s the main thing, to get a foundation back up for him.”

Revere, who has been out since
July 14 and is recovering from surgery for a broken bone in his right foot, ditched
his crutches yesterday, Proefrock said he is finally weight-bearing.

“He’s headed in the right
direction as well,” Proefrock said. “Hopefully, I don’t know whether Ryan or
Ben will be back on the field here or in Florida, but the expectation is that
they’ll be back on the field somewhere before the end of the season. Whether
it’s up here, whether they’re playing in instructional league, I don’t know.”

Stutes (right biceps tendinitis) is
long-tossing, although he has not thrown off a mound. Proefrock thinks a return
this year for him could happen. Jeremy Horst (left elbow sprain) was scheduled to
see a doctor today, but Proefrock had not yet gotten a medical update on him.
Savery (left elbow stiffness) will go on a rehab assignment later this
week, likely in Florida.

Proefrock added the team is hoping Mike Adams will be ready for spring training after his shoulder surgery.

Ryne Sandberg was forthcoming when asked about Jimmy Rollins’
approach, at-bats and importance to the Phillies lineup, and he has a clear vision
of what he wants out of Rollins, especially if he remains the Phillies leadoff
hitter.

“… I think for me [it’s about] keeping a line drive stroke
and improving the on-base percentage,” Sandberg said. “That’s what the team
needs.”

Rollins enters Monday’s game against the Rockies with a
.305 on-base percentage. Prior to this year, his career OBP was .328.

It was interesting to later hear Rollins’ take on the
conversations he has had with his new manager.

“What I got from it was, ‘Get back to being a leader again,’”
Rollins said. “We have a lot of young guys. We need direction. That pretty much
will be my role. That's what it's always been.”

Rollins’ home run numbers are way down this year. With 463 at-bats, Rollins has hit only five
home runs, making it the fewest he’s hit since going deep eight times in 2010
when he had only 350 at-bats because of injuries. Those are the only times he’s
hit fewer than 11 since 2004.

Sandberg could care less about those home run numbers,
though.

“I would like him not to focus on hitting home runs,”
Sandberg said. “Anytime that I hit a home run, it was an accident. It was a
perfect swing that I caught out in front, square up and was just underneath
just a little bit. What I think for Jimmy at the top of the lineup with his
speed and his baserunning and as good as
he is as a baserunner, he’s got to get on base. I don’t think him focusing on
hitting 15 to 20 home runs in the right approach for him. If he wants to score
100 runs per year, I think that’s the proper approach — not hitting solo home
runs.”

Rollins insisted that he’s not trying to hit home runs and
never has. But he is working on making changes and will continue to.

“Usually when I'm going good, I'm hitting doubles
and the home runs come off of the doubles,” he said.

The biggest issue Sandberg will have is getting Rollins to
break some bad habits. At 34, Sandberg knows that won’t be easy for the student
or the teacher.

“It’s a
challenge to try something new,” Sandberg said. “It can be addressed now and
attempted to be applied, possibly. It could take some time in the offseason
with new drills and a new mindset. I could see that being effective. But
players get stuck in their ways with what is comfortable to them. So [the
adjustments] could be uncomfortable for some players to say, ‘I’m going to try
this.’

“Yes, I
think it takes a special player [to be able to change]. But I also think it
takes maybe a change or a [new] relationship, or communication on what is
expected of him.”

DINGERS: Tyler Cloyd will start Tuesday’s game. The team
will announce a roster move following tonight’s game. … Sandberg has Carlos
Ruiz batting second tonight. He said his catcher has gains confidence, looks
more comfortable at the plate and feels he is a situational hitter who will fit
right in at the two-hole. ... John Lannan will be examined by Dr. Ciccotti tonight. We should have an update about his knee either tonight or tomorrow for you.

The moment Darin Ruf's name appeared in the lineup as the Phillies starting right fielder earlier this week, I had a feeling this was a possibility --- the team designated Delmon Young for assignment to make room for outfielder Casper Wells on the 25-man roster.

Good move. Young wasn't going to be a part of this team next year and he wasn't doing much to help them now.

Young, signed in the offseason as a free agent, started the year on the disabled list after having microfracture surgery on his ankle. He's been a disappointment since he was activated.

The former first overall pick by the Rays in 2003 draft, Young hit only .261 this year. He came into the season with a career .284 batting average from 2006-2012.

Young was brought on board to provide some pop from the right side, but he had just eight home runs and 31 RBIs in 80 games for the Phillies this year. It's the same number of home runs that Erik Kratz has in 100 fewer at-bats.

My best guess is that you'll see a mixture of names in right field from here on out. I'm sure Ruf will be there sometimes, Wells and possibly John Mayberry Jr. if manager Charlie Manuel puts Wells or Michael Martinez in center field.

Based upon things Manuel said earlier in the week, it doesn't sound like Dom Brown will play in right field much, if at all. Although Brown said he's equally comfortable in both corner outfield spots.

The Phillies catching situation got even more interesting this week, and definitely more challenging for the front office.

Carlos Ruiz will be a free agent at the end of this year, and there's a chance the Phillies were (and might still be) at times thinking about not re-signing him.

That idea was made more difficult this week.

The organization has shut down Triple-A catcher Tommy Joseph for the rest of the season. Ruben Amaro Jr. said he is still having symptoms from a concussion he had in May. Concussions can have a cumulative affect, and it's not Joseph's first.

"That’s a big hole for us next year," Amaro said. "Whether it’s Chooch
coming back to us and being our No. 1 catcher or whether it’s somebody
else, I don’t know if we have that internal candidate right now because Tommy
didn’t really have a chance to develop. Frankly, I don’t know if Tommy would
have been ready even if he had a full year. He’s still young. It’s an issue and
it’s something we’re going to have to address, whether it be a trade or free
agency or Chooch that remains to be seen."

Amaro couldn't rule out the need for Joseph to switch positions, but the GM admitted that would be a tough move to make.

"He’s played some first base, but he’s going to have to
really hit to play first base," Amaro said. "I think he can be a good offensive player, but
he’s a much better offensive player behind the plate than at first base. It’s a
possibility, but he’s really going to have to whack it."

Surely, the Phillies had been hoping Joseph would have progressed enough this season to get a September call-up this year. I could have envisioned him being the second catcher on the team's 25-man roster in 2014.

Maybe the hope was that Ruiz would have been willing to come back for two years, where in the first year (2014) he'd serve as the starter and mentor to Joseph, and in the second year (2015), he'd become the back-up to Joseph.

Now that scenario seems unlikely. And the Phillies don't really have another catcher that seems ready. They haven't been convinced of the progress of Sebastian Valle, who ended 2012 with Lehigh Valley but has been with Double-A Reading all year this season. He's hitting only .211.

Cameron Rupp has taken over for the IronPigs. Although he's hitting .250 this year with Lehigh Valley, he's been hurried through the system, mostly because of Joseph's injury (and other injuries to Phillies catchers that caused a trickle-down affect). He started last year playing for Single-A Clearwater. It's hard to imagine he'd be ready to catch 30-40 games in the big leagues next year.

“We’re just being
very, very conservative with [Joseph]," Amaro said. "There’s no reason to put him in harm’s way."

So we were already pretty sure Chase Utley would be here for the next two years, and we thought the third year was a good possibility too.

The Phillies finally officially announced the second baseman's contract extension, and surprised many people when they said Utley could actually be here a total of five more years. He would be 39 during the last year of the contract.

His 2014-15 seasons are guaranteed with vesting options for 2016-18, the club announced during Thursday's game.

According to Ken Rosenthal from FOXSports.com, Utley will make $27 million over the next two years, but he can earn up to $75 million by the time the contract expires.

“Chase
epitomizes everything we expect our Phillies to be," GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said in a statement. "As we've said before, we
see Chase as a true Phillie for life. This
contract moves us toward that end. We couldn't be more pleased.”

Utley, who will be 35 when spring training rolls around next year, received three vesting options, each
worth $15 million, Rosenthal reported. Each of his options will vest at 500 plate appearances, a total he has not exceeded since 2009 when he had 511 plate appearances.

If Utley fails to get to 500 plate appearances in 2016, 2017 or 2018, his option would revert to a conditional club option, sources told Rosenthal. The
value of those options would range from $5 million to $11 million,
depending upon how many days he spent on the disabled list the previous
season.

The value of those options will depend upon how many days he spent on the disabled list the previous season.

Utley and Amaro are expected to meet with the media 30 minutes after this game against the Cubs ends.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr., who has repeatedly said he wants his team to get younger, may have done just the opposite on Wednesday.

Multiple outlets, including CSNPhilly.com and MLB.com, are reporting that sources have told them that the Phillies and Chase Utley have come to terms on a contract extension.

According to Ken Rosenthal, a senior baseball writer for FOXsports.com, the total guaranteed money in the deal will be in the “high 20s." One source told Rosenthal it would be between $25-$30 million.

It's reportedly a two-year deal with multiple options that could keep the five-time All-Star in Philadelphia beyond 2015.

The second baseman was rumored to be part of trade talks in the weeks leading up to the July 31 trade deadline. Amaro acknowledged he would listen to offers about anyone, but as the deadline grew closer, Amaro said multiple times that he wanted Utley to be "a Phillie for life."

Utley, who will be 35 when spring training starts next season, missed the first 46 games of the 2011 season because of chronic problems with his right knee. Then last year, he was out for the first 76 games due to ongoing issues with his left knee.

If this deal is really happening, the Phillies clearly aren't all that worried about Utley's knees.

"As
my good friend, [assistant GM] Benny Looper points to, if you look at the body of work of what
Chase does as a productive player, you have to understand he is still one of
the best and most productive players in the game," Amaro said on July 31. "And so when he’s on the field
and doing it, obviously, as we talked about, we have to be aware of his health
and what has happened over the last several years. But I also have to be
cognizant that the man is out there playing like a 28-year-old right now. So
for me, it’s about producing. I’m not sure he’s a guy you can replace at second
base with the kind of production that he can get us.

Since hitting a career-high .332 in 2007, Utley's batting average has dropped every year since. He is hitting .275 this season, the highest his batting average has been since hitting .275 in 2010. He has 15 home runs and 42 RBIs in 83 games.

Utley, who was not in Wednesday's starting lineup, is in the final year of a seven-year, $85 million deal. He was drafted by the Phillies in the first round (15th overall) in 2000.